The Dean: Memories of Onofrio Lauri

From left: Willie Mosconi, Lauri, Irving Crane

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Erling Hammarstrom, the son of Norwegian parents, wrote me recently with recollections of his poolroom hero, the famous Onofrio Lauri. I've reproduced his letter,  shortened somewhat for space.

My sister and our parents settled in Brooklyn, in a neighborhood called Bay Ridge. The year was 1953 and I had just graduated from high school. A friend asked to go shoot a game of pool at a second-floor room managed by Onofrio Lauri, known as 'The dean of pocket billiards.' 

I was fascinated. The sound of the click of the balls. I even liked the smell of the powder that you put on your hands. One day I came to the poolroom early and there was no one in the place except Lauri. He challenged me to a game of straight pool and gave me a 90-ball spot on a 100-point game, playing for a pack of cigarettes.

Lauri ran five racks before he got out of position: the fifteen ball, which was his break shot, ended up behind the rack. Lauri called it in the corner pocket and I told him he'd never make it. He said let’s double the bet. He hit the cue ball off the right-hand side rail and it clipped the fifteen ball into the corner pocket before it broke open the rack. After running 150 balls Lauri unscrewed his cue and said that was enough for today. I went downstairs and bought him two packs of cigarettes. 

Sometimes Lauri and I would talk baseball. I was a real Brooklyn Dodgers fan and I thought Lauri would be too.  But years ago he shot pool with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and ever since that day he was a Yankees fan. I also asked him who was the best player of all time. Was it Greenleaf or Mosconi? Lauri had played against both of them. Lauri thought for a moment and said in a single game he'd pick Greenleaf, but over a series of games it would be Mosconi because he was so consistent.

Mosconi, in his autobiography, writes about Lauri

Every year Lauri would play Willie Mosconi at Julian's in Manhattan on 14th Street. Lauri might win two games, but he said you always get punch drunk playing Mosconi because he was so good. The last time I saw Lauri and Mosconi play was in 1965, at a place called the Golden Q in Queens. They were playing 200-point matches and Lauri ended up defeating Mosconi with runs of 90 and 110. After the match Mosconi turned to the crowd and said, "doo you believe this old man?"

Mosconi in his biography Willie’s Game co-authored with Stanley Cohen, speaks of Onofrio Lauri. "You wouldn’t want him to be the guy standing between you and a championship. He was a sensational shot maker. If he got on a roll he could run out on you quicker than you could count the balls.”

Willie Mosconi: Sometimes your idols disappoint

BCA Instructor Roy Pastor sends in this picture (at right) of himself, circa 1969, standing next to his then-idol, Willie Mosconi. I say "next to" and not "with" because the boy had to resort to subterfuge to have the picture taken with the great champion. Mosconi was a great player, but he could also be a tough and difficult man -- as Pastor's somewhat sad story about this photograph attests.

I've also attached a photograph below of Roy standing with Cueball Kelly and Onofrio Lauri. That picture also figures into Roy's story, which you can read in his note that I've attached below.

I grappled a little bit about posting this story -- after all Mosconi was one of the great icons of our game. But it's also an indisputable fact that there was a darker side to the man -- that much became clear to me as I wrote The Hustler & The Champ. It also seems clear to me that for our history to be legitimate, we must endeavor to capture and convey the full story of its icons, both the good and the bad.

Here's Roy's letter:

"When I was 12 years old, back in 1969, my father took me to see an exhibition match between my idol Willie Mosconi and the house pro at Golden Q billiards in Queens New York. I was very excited as I watched Mosconi run 60-plus balls to win the match.

We did not realize that Mosconi was selling copies of his book. When my dad asked him if he could take a picture of Mosconi with me, Mosconi replied that he would on the condition that my dad would purchase one of his books. Unfortunately, my father did not have enough money to buy a book. As a result, Mosconi refused to shake my hand or pose for a photograph with me. My disappointment must have been obvious because “Cue Ball” Kelly and “Kid” Laurie came right over, introduced themselves, posed for photos and were very kind. I think that it was Kelly who told me to go over and stand next to Mosconi while he was giving an interview. That way, even though he would not look at the camera, I had a picture with him.

I have kept the photos from that day as a reminder of my interactions with these legends of the sport. I always wondered how Mosconi could have so easily disappointed a 12-year-old star struck fan."